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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26779894">(love)sick day</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/neohearts/pseuds/neohearts'>neohearts</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Established Relationship, Fever, Fluff, M/M, Sharing a Bed, Showers, Sickfic, mark: puppy eyes, showering together</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:00:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,947</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26779894</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/neohearts/pseuds/neohearts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“You’re burning up,” Renjun breathes out.</p><p>Mark’s eyes flicker shut under Renjun’s touch, hot skin soothed by his cooler hands. “I had a feeling that was the case.”</p><p> </p><p>(in which mark gets a fever, and renjun is more than willing to take care of him.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Huang Ren Jun/Mark Lee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>156</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>(love)sick day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>woohoo! i finally used proper capitalization!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Renjun is a light sleeper. It takes him a grueling amount of time before he grows drowsy, and it takes even more time of tossing and turning for him to fall sound asleep. His inability to quickly doze off makes him groggy when woken up abruptly, but when he rouses to the creaking of his bedroom door opening, he snaps wide awake.</p><p>Renjun pulls up into a sitting position, shifting the blanket down to his lap. He stares at the figure stepping into his room, frame recognizable despite being embraced by darkness. “Mark? What’s wrong?”</p><p>“I don’t feel good,” Mark mumbles. His voice sounds a bit pained.</p><p>“What?” Renjun throws the covers off and flings himself out of bed. Mark flicks on the light switch by the doorframe and he squints to adjust to the sudden brightness. The shadows obscuring Mark’s appearance are driven away, revealing his condition for Renjun to inspect more clearly.</p><p>Soaked strands of hair are plastering to Mark’s sweaty forehead, and Mark is gazing at him expectantly with glazed-over eyes. Renjun reaches up to card Mark’s hair back and presses the palm of his other hand to his forehead. The skin under his fingers is <i>scorching</i>.</p><p>“You’re burning up,” Renjun breathes out.</p><p>Mark’s eyes flicker shut under Renjun’s touch, hot skin soothed by his cooler hands. “I had a feeling that was the case.”</p><p>“You’ve been draining yourself lately,” Renjun points out, tone scolding but gentle. “Your body was gonna shutdown at some point.” He cups Mark’s feverish face with both hands. “I told you not to push yourself,” he adds with a worried huff, eyebrows furrowing.</p><p>Despite Renjun’s chiding, Mark easily melts into the hands cradling his cheeks. “I know,” he borderline whimpers. He lifts a hand to grasp one of Renjun’s wrists. “I just...can we talk about this later, please?”</p><p>“Okay okay, I’ll stop. Sorry.”</p><p>They move to the kitchen where the medicine cabinets are; Renjun rummaging through their medicine supplies while Mark fidgets behind him, resembling some sort of sick puppy with round, pleading eyes.</p><p>It’s almost strange, Renjun thinks as he pushes the bandaid boxes aside. His boyfriend sniffles behind him, waiting to be pampered and taken care of when it’s usually the other way around. Memories of being tended to by Mark come rushing back, sweet and delicate like honey drops; him draping his jacket over Renjun’s shoulders on a particularly breezy day, him holding Renjun lovingly when he knew he was stressed and overwhelmed, him wrapping a plaster over Renjun’s nicked finger before laying a ginger kiss over the bandaged cut.</p><p>But now Mark’s eyes are glassy with fever, his body racked with enough heat for phantom flames to emanate from him and engulf his skin and clothes. It’s 1AM—their home tinged with the chill of night and the lull of slumber as they stand in the kitchen in their pajamas. Out the window, the city lights accompany the stars dancing in the wide canvas of the sky, flecks of colored diamonds glittering against inky black. It all adds to this unfamiliar moment of Mark being the one who’s vulnerable and needs care instead.</p><p>“Here.” Renjun whirls around to hand Mark the bottle of liquid fever medicine. “We don’t have any pills right now so if you’re still sick tomorrow, I’ll go grab some from the store in the morning.”</p><p>Mark wordlessly twists the container open and begins pouring into the cap, filling it to the near brim. He downs it with a slight grimace. “Blegh.” His tongue peeks out of his mouth in disgust.</p><p>“Let’s take a hot shower,” Renjun suggests. He waits until Mark blinks at him before continuing. “It helps with colds and fevers. Plus you’re all sweaty.”</p><p>“It’s one in the morning,” Mark reminds him with another wet sniffle. “We should just go to bed, I have to—”</p><p>“You’re taking the day off tomorrow,” Renjun interrupts him adamantly, leaving no room for argument. He takes one last reluctant scrutiny of Mark’s condition and he’s more than positive that Mark will be in no shape to work in merely the next day, predicting a bundle of groans and coughs under a thick blanket when the night sky has long mellowed out into serene, pale blues and the moon has been replaced by the sun. “You’re not gonna get better in just one night.”</p><p>“You don’t know that…” Mark’s words fail him, doubt lingering in his tone because they both know Renjun is right.</p><p>“Come on,” Renjun murmurs as he interlocks his hand with Mark’s and walks out of the kitchen, Mark trailing after him without much objection. He leads them to the bathroom and turns on the shower to the hottest setting, water raining down from the showerhead and beginning to heat up. He pulls his shirt over his head, goosebumps trailing down his spine at the exposure of air, and steps towards Mark. Renjun plays with the hem of Mark’s t-shirt, stroking the fabric between his thumbs and index fingers, before quietly instructing, “off.”</p><p>Mark complies. After he tugs his shirt off, he starts to divest himself of the rest of his clothes, Renjun following him without another word uttered between them and occasionally helping each other peel off their clothing. Hot water has finally circulated to the shower, steam rising from the stall and thickening the cool air with humidity. Renjun hops in first and gestures for Mark to join him.</p><p>Water cascades down skin and seeps into bone, warm and soothing as Renjun pumps shampoo into his hands and reaches up. Mark’s eyes fall shut when Renjun begins to massage his hair, combing through tangles and kneading his scalp with the aim to assuage Mark’s fever and help him relax. He wishes the water streaming over the slopes of Mark’s shoulders could wash his sickness away, too.</p><p>Sweet-smelling foam develops between and under Renjun’s fingers as he continues to shampoo Mark’s hair when Mark slowly opens his eyes and parts his lips.</p><p>“I love you, Renjun,” Mark breathes out. His voice is soft, so soft that the shower nearly drowns it out, as if he ached to say those three words but was scared of breaking the tenderness lingering in the steam. Maybe his fever weakened the tendrils holding him back and snapped when Mark gave one final tug.</p><p>Renjun’s fingers halt, still threaded through soapy strands of hair. “I love you, too.”</p><p>Renjun guides Mark’s head under the rush of water, rinsing out the shampoo gently and ensuring that none of the soapy water trickles into his eyes. Once he pulls him away from the drizzling shower, Mark dips down to press his lips to the junction of Renjun’s neck and shoulder.</p><p>“Mark?” His breath tickles his wet skin, his lips moist as it smooths over his collarbone. Renjun softens, curling into him as he watches the warm water stream down Mark’s back. They’ve spent countless nights together; limbs tangled together on the couch, basking in each other’s warmth while exchanging sweet words and kisses; hot mouths slotted together in bed, hands roaming and lips teasing when bare skin meets soft sheets—but never like this.</p><p>“Sorry.” Mark pulls away and shoots him a small smile, though his eyes glisten with fever and exhaustion. “Thanks for taking care of me like this, ’specially since it’s so late. You do know that I could get you sick too though, right?”</p><p>“Doesn’t matter,” Renjun sniffs. “You need me right now.” He reaches for the sponge and bar of body soap. “Turn around.”</p><p>After Renjun cleans Mark’s back, he moves on to his arms and the rest of his body, scrubbing away at the fever and discomfort embedded into his skin. The accumulated suds lathering his body are washed away easily when he’s pushed under the showerhead one last time. The mirror has fogged up considerably when they step out of the shower. Renjun grabs a towel and starts drying Mark’s hair as Mark gazes down at him with those round, puppy eyes again. It doesn’t take long for Renjun to grow cold, the droplets dripping down his body cooling down and freezing his once-warm skin, but he keeps rubbing at Mark’s hair to soak up as much moisture as possible.</p><p>“You’re shivering,” Mark says softly. “Let me—” He twists away to get another towel, swiftly wrapping it around Renjun’s torso and working to dry him off as well. Renjun blinks, wondering how Mark can have the strength and concern to worry over him when <i>he’s</i> the one with the fever, but Renjun concludes that Mark has always been like this.</p><p>They pat each other dry and dress in fresh clothes, hair damp and skin lotioned. Mark pulls Renjun close once they reach the bed and climb under the covers, burying his face into his chest and sighing against the beating of his heart. Renjun runs his fingers through Mark’s dark hair, threading through the soft strands.</p><p>Mark nuzzles further into Renjun. “You smell so nice,” he mumbles, arms tightening around him.</p><p>Renjun rolls his eyes even though he knows Mark can’t see it. “Go to bed, you big baby.”</p><p>Mark lets out a breathy laugh, permeating the night air with traces of stardust. He whispers a <i>goodnight</i> and snuggles closer to tangle their legs together. Renjun prays Mark can’t hear the way his heart thumps harder against his ribcage.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>━━━━━━━</p>
</div>“Injoon,” a voice murmurs, warm and soft like an early spring morning, blooming daisies and gentle sunshine after rainfall. “Baby, wake up.”<p>A disgruntled noise bursts from Renjun’s mouth, a clear sign of refusal. It feels hot, his skin melting into the sheets and liquifying into thick syrup, and sweat layers every crevice of his body. Fuzzy cotton has filled in the spaces of his brain, but it’s hard to think and his head feels so much <i>heavier</i>.</p><p>Then it clocks. The ache throbbing his skull, the itch clawing his throat, the heat sizzling under his skin.</p><p>Renjun recalls predicting that there would be a bundle of groans and coughs the next day, but he was sure that it would have been <i>Mark</i>.</p><p>He forces his sticky eyelids open and meets a blurry shape near his face at the edge of the bed. He strains his eyes to focus.</p><p>Mark smiles at him, face brightening as it rests on his hands. “Hey, baby,” he coos. “It’s twelve. You’ve been in bed all day.” The loving brown of his eyes twinkle with energy, perfectly healthy and recovered. His once-pallid face has gained color and there is not a hint of sickness in his pose. Even his complexion looks better.</p><p>Renjun groans, shutting his eyes as the urge to cough creeps up his dry throat. “This is all your fault,” he bemoans weakly.</p><p>“Hey, I warned you that I might pass it to you,” Mark defends himself. He leans to rest his cheek against a single palm, freeing a hand to brush Renjun’s sweaty hair back. “But I guess it’s still my fault. Sorry.” His words clip off with a giggle, obviously not that sorry.</p><p>Renjun grunts. “Whatever. Don’t you need to be out right now? It’s noon.”</p><p>“You told me to take the day off.” Mark leans forward to plant a kiss to Renjun’s burning forehead, sweet and lingering. “I’ve already emailed everyone and sent voicemails. There’s no way I’m leaving you here all alone with a fever.”</p><p>“<i>Your</i> fever,” Renjun corrects him with a feeble huff. “This is your fever.”</p><p>Mark laughs again. “Right. <i>My</i> fever.” He straightens up his posture to reach over, grasping Renjun’s shoulders and pulling him up to sit. “Come on, let’s go take a hot shower.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>as always, thanks for reading ˙ᵕ˙</p></blockquote></div></div>
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